It has pleased the Lord to call our loving and faithful pastor Matt Carpenter to First Congregational Church in Middleborough, MA. To write about our dear and reverend brother seems like a Sisyphean task. No words seem quite enough to capture the depth of Pastor Matt’s influence on Trinity Reformed Church. G.K. Chesterton once said the most important thing about someone is that which can’t be told. Yet something must be said.

Why are good pastors beloved? It’s because the very best pastors know your soul, as it is, and where it should go. They understand your struggles with sin, your desire to reform, and the power of Christ to transform. They receive you as you are. They listen. They pray. They love. They Shepherd. They mediate Christ’s love. They show compassion when proper and they speak the hard words of truth when needed. And when you reflect on the ministry of such a pastor, you realize that God has been at work. You didn’t stay where you were. You have grown. The very best pastor meets you where you are and takes you to Christ.

Praise the Lord when goodbyes contain sorrow (Eph. 20:17-38). What is sorrow for Pastor Matt’s leaving but the gratitude we have for his ministry? Pastor Matt’s wisdom has brought clarity to the most complicated of matters. Yet it is the “above-reproach” quality of Matt’s character that has left an indelible mark on all who know him. His quotidian strength of faith, his unwavering integrity, and his humble spirit are felt deeply by all who have received his care. For many, his laughter has been a balm; his encouragement a lifeline; his preaching timely and incisive. He is the rare pastor who has the erudition of a scholar and the warmth of a friend, a ready word for the mature adult and the burgeoning child. It is uncommon to find a pastor who can touch and affect a heterogeneous mass of hearers, on sundry subjects. It’s a rare quality to say something new and striking on the most long-worn threadbare subjects while maintaining continuity with the long-forgotten history of the church.

It would be easy to continue this spirited apercus of Matt’s gift and accomplishments; his kindness and generosity; or even his delightful quirks. But that would shine a light on the effect rather than the cause. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5).

C.S. Lewis reminds us, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”¹ So, while saying farewell is difficult, it comes with hope—hope that the next chapter for both Matt and TRC will bring even greater joy and fulfillment. In Lewis’ The Last Battle, Lucy and the others are filled with the palpable grief of never returning to Narnia. Lewis writes “The term is over: the holidays have begun.” Like Lucy, we find ourselves in the strange place of grieving a loss and clinging to hope. Parting from our dear pastor feels like leaving a beloved land, knowing it will never be the same. Yet, in the departure, we are reminded that there is a new chapter to be written, both for the ones who go and the ones who remain. We trust the Lord that in our departing paths, we travel the same road.

God’s master plan is that the gospel goes to the ends of the earth. So He calls His minister and gives him the power to go to a new land. This is a well-established pattern in Scripture and church history. We don’t begrudge God that when the end is required, the means are authorized. Rather, we are vessels of mercy and stewards of the wild and wondrous beauty of the gospel. We praise the Lord for the stories we will hear when we are all gathered at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and learn all that God has done. So, for now, what can we say? “I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.”² Pastor Matt will be deeply missed, but his legacy of love, kindness, and wisdom will remain with us always, and for that, we give thanks.

Footnotes

¹ C.S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy 1950–1963, ed. Walter Hooper (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), 1,478.

² Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, 3.3.14-15.